The present invention relates generally to computed tomography (CT) diagnostic imaging systems and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a collimator mandrel having variable attenuation characteristics.
Typically, in CT imaging systems, an x-ray source emits a fan-shaped beam toward a subject or object, such as a patient or a piece of luggage. Hereinafter, the terms “subject” and “object” shall include anything capable of being imaged. The beam, after being attenuated by the subject, impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the attenuated beam radiation received at the detector array is typically dependent upon the attenuation of the x-ray beam by the subject. Each detector element of the detector array produces a separate electrical signal indicative of the attenuated beam received by each detector element. The electrical signals are transmitted to a data processing system for analysis which ultimately produces an image.
Generally, the x-ray source and the detector array are rotated about the gantry within an imaging plane and around the subject. X-ray sources typically include x-ray tubes, which emit the x-ray beam at a focal point. X-ray detectors typically include a collimator for collimating x-ray beams received at the detector, a scintillator for converting x-rays to light energy adjacent the collimator, and photodiodes for receiving the light energy from the adjacent scintillator and producing electrical signals therefrom.
Typically, each scintillator of a scintillator array converts x-rays to light energy. Each scintillator discharges light energy to a photodiode adjacent thereto. Each photodiode detects the light energy and generates a corresponding electrical signal. The outputs of the photodiodes are then transmitted to the data processing system for image reconstruction.
Pre-patient collimators are commonly used to shape, or otherwise limit the coverage, of an x-ray or radiation beam projected from an x-ray source toward a subject to be scanned. Typically, the CT system will include a pair of collimator mandrels, each of which is mounted on an eccentric drive, such that the collimators may be positioned relative to one another to define a non-attenuated x-ray or radiation path. For example, by increasing the relative distance between the collimators, the width of the x-ray or radiation beam that impinges on the subject increases. In contrast, by moving the collimators closer to one another, the x-ray or radiation beam narrows. The eccentrics are designed to position the collimator mandrels with respect to one another and relative to an x-ray focal point to modulate the width of an x-ray or radiation path that bisects the collimators.
Collimators are frequently implemented to provide variable patient long axis (z-axis) coverage when a curvilinear detector assembly is used to detect radiation passing from the x-ray source through and around the subject during data acquisition. Conventional collimator mandrel configurations utilize a solid rod of attenuating material such as tungsten that is machined with a slight increase in diameter in the center of the mandrel relative to its ends. However, as the detector size increases in the z-axis, the constraints on the collimator tighten. Moreover, the collimator must be constructed to accommodate the increase in detector size while limiting x-ray coverage. Increased x-ray coverage increases patient radiation dose and degrades image quality due to the increased scatter in the reconstructed image. Accordingly, the collimator mandrel must be constructed to have a complex shape to accommodate the increase in detector size.
One known manufacturing process requires that the solid tungsten rod be machined to provide the complex shape necessary to achieve the desired beam shaping. Tungsten is a rigid material that is highly absorptive of x-rays. As such, tungsten is considered well-suited for collimator assemblies in CT systems. The rigidity of the tungsten, however, makes machining of a solid tungsten rod to have a complex shape difficult and time consuming. Moreover, machining with a precision required for a CT collimator can be difficult thereby compromising system performance.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an accurate and repeatable manufacturing process capable of providing a precise and complex-shaped collimator mandrel for a CT system.